Hero Fiennes Tiffin Isn't Your Parents' Sherlock Holmes–He's Cooler

Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays Sherlock Holmes like Sherlock Holmes is a young James Bond. In the Prime Video series Young Sherlock, Guy Ritchie—fresh off aMobLand victory lap— directs this take on the great detective with a similar flair as his famous Robert Downey Jr.-led Sherlock Holmes films; reminding us that just because this character is 139 years old, it doesn't mean he can't also be rock and roll. That said, 28-year-old Fiennes Tiffin (nephew of Ralph Fiennes) wishes that in his new Sherlock show, he got to kick as much ass as Downey Jr. once did back in the day. Because one of the running jokes in the first two episodes of Young Sherlock is that Sherlock doesn't know how to fight and has to be taught by his future nemesis, James Moriarty.

"I'll be very excited when I can receive fewer punches to the face," Fiennes Tiffin tells Men's Journal with a laugh. "One of the first things that I noticed as well about the script was his inability to fight, and I was like, damn."

But, don't get it twisted. From showrunner Matthew Parkhill, Young Sherlock has that classic Guy Ritchie flair, which makes it a very kick-ass show, even if Sherlock isn't kicking ass the entire time. Men's Journal caught up with Fiennes Tiffin to get his take on this new role, what makes leading men cool, and why killer music can change the vibe of an old-school adventure.

Men's Journal: What did you do to make this iconic character your own?

I wanted to give Sherlock youthful enthusiasm and positivity. In other versions, we love watching Sherlock be emotionally detached from a lot of things. But how did he get that way? My Sherlock has an element of curiosity that gives everything the benefit of the doubt. And I think that might be quite relatable to a lot of people, as we experience hardships in life, that positivity might get worn down, and slowly you get more cynical. I think it's nice to see him on the other side of the coin, and hopefully, we get more seasons, and we can continue to document his growth in that way.

The big news here is that Sherlock is best friends with his future mortal enemy, Moriarty. This is more of a show where they're just like two dudes having a pint together, right?

One of the first things that I kind of noticed as a Sherlock fan was his friendship with Moriarty [in Young Sherlock], and I was going, "Hang on a minute, that's not supposed to be!" Because when you know that friendship plane is going to crash and burn eventually, it just feels like there's so much more behind it.

There's certainly a lot of drinking going on with him and Moriarty, though, yes! Dónal [Finn] and I are trying to really give you a version of these guys hanging out at a college. 

Talk to me about the physical aspect of this role. What was the fight training like?

I'm a sucker for any ballgame, any sports, so [I] love it all. I love doing the stunt rehearsals and training. That never feels like a chore for me. If anything, I was just disappointed [that] I was just going to be receiving more punches than throwing them. Sherlock is definitely learning how to fight from Moriarty, and so I'm a little bit jealous of watching some of those fight scenes with Donal. That said, I really appreciate how much that idea benefits the story. Of having Sherlock not quite be there yet.

Sherlock Holmes is also this aspirational idea for men, the idea that you can have a well-ordered mind. What do you do to center yourself?

I'm a huge football [soccer] fan. Something about the simplicity really appeals to me. And I can talk to my friends about it for ages and ages. There's something really nice and refreshing about it at the end of the day, about that not being the end of the world. There's always another game. I guess that's my version of it, my sort of mental philosophy. It's an infinity game.

I've actually become quite obsessed with golf while I was filming this. That was a nice way for me to keep myself centered. You're so focused with golf.

Wait. Would Sherlock Holmes be good at golf?

I know Conan Doyle was big into his sports and fitness! I've often thought about how, yeah, I think Sherlock would be good at golf. He'd figure it out, wouldn't he? There's a great connection in golf between the mind and the body.